Tip of My Iceberg

I’ve never heard of the country of Andorra. It’s tiny, situated along the southern peaks of the Pyrenees Mountains, surrounded by France on the north and east and Spain on the south and west. It’s the sixth smallest country in Europe measuring only 181 square miles–a little more than a tenth of the size of Rhode Island.

What’s my interest? Several of the men in our family had the distinct opportunity to go hiking in those spectacular mountains. Am I jealous? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t. The pictures they sent back were magnificent.

If asked my preference of beach or mountains, I’ll choose mountains any day. The wonders of hiking, the vast beauty of the rocky splendors, the constantly changing landscape all combine for sheer joy. (Truth–I live near the beach. The grass is always greener on the other side, right?)

Mountains often reflect the paths we take in life. Moving forward often means moving upward toward a challenge or a longed-for goal. Walking along mountain paths, coming around corners, peeking around rock outcroppings, discovering caves is the adventure. Unlike walking on a beach where you can see fairly far ahead of you.

In life, we rarely are confident of what’s just around the corner.

Israel had been defeated and taken into captivity by Babylon; God was allowing His people to struggle because they’d turned their backs on Him. He told them through the prophet Jeremiah that they’d be in captivity for a given period of time. He reminded them that this wasn’t where He’d leave them.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:10-11.

God didn’t want His people to just sit on their hands and wait. He told them to build homes, plant gardens, marry, and have children. Work for the peace and prosperity of where they lived at the moment. Continue on with life, not waiting for something else to happen, but living in the reality of the moment, embracing each day as if it was a gift.

Because it is a gift.

Journeys aren’t always easy. The really good ones, like the best stories, are full of wonderful memories and monstrous challenges. Good people and bad.

Just like hiking through unknown mountains.

The guys who had the chance to hike in Andorra had no idea what they were encountering. It didn’t deter them from seeking what they didn’t know to find something wonderful they hadn’t thought of.

That’s God’s journey with us. A beautiful challenge, an exciting adventure. The walk through the mountains of life with the God of the universe is an unmatched experience. But He guides our feet and lights our path, no matter how dark and dreary it is.

Better than the beach any day.